Machinery and method for making receptacles



May 6, 1930. E. CRAIG MACHINERY AND METHOD FOR MAKING REGEPTACLES Filed May 2s, 1927 4 sheets-sheet 1 I If May s, 1930. E. CRAIG 1,757,294

MACHINERY AND METHOD FOR MAKING HECEPTACLES Filed May 23, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 6, 1930. E. CRAIG MACHINERY AND METHOD. FOR KAKING RECEPTACLES l Filed May 23. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 6, 1930. E. CRAIG 1,757,294

MACHINERY AND METHOD FOR MAKING RECEPTACLES Filed May 23, 1927 my W 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1f@ J o BM M Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD CRAIG, F ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN; THE COMMERCIAL NATIQNAL BANK EXECUTOR 0F THE ESTATE 0F SAID EDWARD I('JRAJG, DECEASED MACHINERY AND METHOD FOR MAKING RECEPTACLES Application filed May 23,

This invention relates to machines for making receptacles, and more particularly to machines for making bushel baskets.

The invention is in the nature of an improvement on the machine shown and described in prior Patent No. 1,594,929, granted August 3, 1926, to Edward Craig, for basket machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby bushel baskets or other similar receptacles having flat bottoms can be made on a machine of this character, by rotating the basket or other receptacle, within a stationary mold, and thereby rotating the form upon which the basket is formed and stapled, or otherwise fastened together, while being made It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction, and combinations, tending to increase the general eificiency and desirability of a machine having basket or receptacle forming instrumentalities, for making flat-bottomed baskets, or other receptacles, of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig 2 is a plan view showing one of the flat blanks from which the baskets are made.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the said machine, showing the other side thereof.

Fig. 4 is a perspective of one of the finished baskets, showing the basket upside down.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, longitudinal section of the instrumentalities for forming and shaping the basket.

Fig. 6 is a. transverse section on line 6-6 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section on line 7-7 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a perspective of one of the scored slats from which the baskets are made.

The basket form 1 is controlled and operated by devices similar to those shown in said prior patent, and such devices do not need to be described here, but the basket form 1927. serial No. 193,449.

itself is somewhat diiferent frm that shown 1n said patent, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

At the other end of the machine, the staplers 2 are similar to those shown and described in said patent, each stapler having a hoop guide 3 for feeding a hoop strip to the basket being made. The hollow shaft 4 is supported in a bearing 5, and is rotated by mechanism like that shown in said prior patent, and the knockout rod 6 is also operated by means similar to vthat shown in said prior patent.

Referring now more particularly to the novel basket or other receptacle forming means, it will be seen that the hollow shaft 4 is rigid with a gear wheel 7 within the housing 8, which latter serves as the mold for eX- crting pressure upon the outer side of the basket to' shape it upon the form 1 previously mentioned. The plate 9 is adjustably mounted fiatwise upon the face of the gear 7 and serves as a means for exerting pressure upon the bottom of the basket, during the forming operation. The basket form 1 has a fiat bottom plate 10 secured thereto, to bear against the inside surface of the bottom of the basket, so that the bottom of the basket will be pressed between this plate and the plate 9 previously mentioned (see Fig. 5 of the drawings). Also, the outer edges of the plate 10 are slightly beveled to fit the inside taper of the basket, the basket being larger at its top than its bottom, and in this way the said beveled edge serves as a clinch block for clinching the staples that are driven through the outside bottom hoop of the basket, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The mold Sis provided interiorly with a rotary ring gear 11 having its inner periphery beveled to bear against the tapered outer surface of the basket. A short shaft 12 is mounted in bearings in the housing 8, preferably below the plane of the axis of the rotary gear 7, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and this shaft is provided with a pinion 13 that engages the gear 7, and with another pinion 14 that engages the ring gear 11, the latter being knurled or roughened on its inner periphery to grip the basket and rotate the latter.

In operation, the machine is started, by any suitable means, and the web shown in Fig. 2 is placed in a vertical plane on the support 15 between the form 1 and the mold 8, and by the movement of the form toward themold, the form being movable back and forth axially as disclosed in said prior patent, the web is then pushed into the mold and pressed into basket form. First, an inside topv hoop 16 is placed on the form. When the web or blank is pressed into basket form, as shown in Fig. 5, the rotary shaft 4 is then given an intermittent rotation, by the means shown in said prior patent, or by any suitable means, and this will rotate the shaft 12 and thereby rotate the ring gear 11, causing the basket and the form 1 to rotate intermittently. ,Each time the basket stands still momentarily, ,the six staplers 2 each drive a staple in one of the outside basket hoops 17, 18 and 19, and the staples all go through and are clinched on the surface of the form. Thus the staple driving operations alternate with the partial rotations of the basket until the staples are all driven.

The hoops 17,18 and 19 are preferably formed from strips that are inserted through the guides 3, in the usual and well known manner, and which are then drawn through these guides and bent around the basket by the intermittent rotation of the basket. As soon as all the staples are driven, the form 1 is then withdrawn, leaving the basket in the mold 8, and the knock-out rod or shaft 6 is then operated endwise to knock the basket out of the mold. y

Of course, the bottom of the basket will be thicker at its center than at its outer edges, as it is at the center that the staves, such as the one shown in Fig. 8, all cross each other, and it will be understood, therefore, that the center of the'bottom will have a thickness equal to the combined thickness of all the staves, while the outer edge of the bottom, close to the outer hoop 19, will be of the same thickness as -one stave. This bottom, therefore, will be pressed between the plates 9 and 10, and it'is desirable, for this reason, to have a rubber cushion 20 interposed between the form 1 and the shoulder 21 on the support 23 that carries the form. This cushion will yield a little, if the thickness of the basket bottom is sutlicient to cause this, and the basket bottom will be flattened on the bottom of the bottom wall, so that the basket bottom may rest flatwise on the floor when finished.

Thus, it will be seen, a fiat-bottomed basket or other receptacle is made by first forming a flat web or blank, and by then employing a form and a mold for pressing the web or blank into basket form, or into the form of the desired receptacle.

Looking at Fig. 7 of the drawings, it will be seen that the Staplers are six in number,

two for each outside hoop of the basket, whereby six staples are driven each time the staplers are operated, two in each hoop. This permits high-speed production of baskets of this kind. i

It` will also beseen that the housing or mold 8 is separable at 24, so that the outer section can be removed, by removing the bolts 25, thus permitting the ring gear 11 to be removed, as well as to be placed in operativo position when the machine is constructed.

The method of making the basket, therefore, is by first scoring a plurality of staves, as shown in Fig. 8, so that they will bend at their scored points, as indicated in dotted lines. Then these scored staves are formed into the web or blank shown in Fig. 2; then all of the staves are bent at their scored points to give the staves basket form; the bottom portions of the staves are pressed to form a flat bottom, and the side wall portions of the staves are pressed (between the form 1 and the ring gear 11) to hold the staves in positionwhile the hoops are being stapled thereto. Therefore, rotary motion is not only communicated to the basket through the ring gear 11, as explained, but also through the compressive engagement of the disk plate 9 with the bottom of the basket. The pressure on the bottom of the basket might be used alone to rotate the basket, but it is better to have this supplemented by positive gripping engagement with the sides of the basket, as through the medium of the ring gear 11, thereby to prevent any slippage in the intermittent rotary feeding motion of the basket below the Staplers.

It will be understood that the showing in F ig. 5 of the drawings is more or less diagrammatic, so far as the construction of the basket is concerned, as only one long stave, of the kind shown in Fig. 8, is shown in Fig. 5, together with the four hoops v16, 17, 18, and 19, and it will be understood that in actual practice the bottom of the basket is thicker,

of course, at the center thereof. This is obvious from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings, as the thickness at the center of the bottom is made up of several thicknesses of the staves where they cross each other, whereas the bottom of the basket at its outer edge is only the thickness of one stave. l/Vith the bottom staves on the under side of the bottom straight, as shown in Fig. 4, there will necessarily be a slight bulge atthe center of the bottom, on its upper surface. However, the bottom of the basket is practically flat, and will rest flatwise on the iioor, when the basket is loaded. The plate 9 and the basket form 1 rotate in unison, during the stapling of the hoops in place, but the mold or housing 8 is held stationary during such rotation. The ring 11 in effect forms a part of the mold, as the basket staves are forced through this ring, so that the latter serves to Lil bend and conform the staves to the sides of the basket form 1, when the latter is pushed forward into the mold. The plates 9 and 10 will be relatively formed, of course, in any suitable or desired manner, to clamp the bottom of the basket between them, and the inner periphery of the ring 11 and the outer surface o f the form 1 will be relatively formed to clalnp the sides of the basket tightly, whereby rotation of the plate 9 and the ring 11 in unison will rotate the basket, and such rotation of the basket will rotate the form 1 on the support 23 that carries the form. The bottom of the basket, therefore, is practically flat, or is of flattened character, and the pressing of the bottom of the basket, and the gripping of the sides of the basket are to provide a grip on the basket through which it can be rotated. In other words, when the bottom of the basket is squeezed or gripped by the means shown and described for this purpose, it can be rotated, and this is made more certain by the gripping of the sides of the basket by the ring gear.

Without disclaiming anything, and without prejudice to any novelty disclosed, what I claim as my invention is:

1. In a machine for making a basket or similar receptacle, the combination of a reciprocating and rotary basket form for engaging the inside of the receptacle, a stationary mold into which the form is movable, the form having a gradual taper from its top to its bottom, whereby the basket is tapered accordingly, rotary means for pressin the bottom of the basket against the end o the form, a stationary body forming with said mold a housing for said rotary means, a ring gear rotatably mounted in the mold, having its inner periphery adapted to grip the outer surface of the basket, mea'ns within said housing and whereby said ring gear is rotated by the operation of said rotary means, means for feeding outside top and bottom hoops to the basket, andstapling mechanism for driving staples through the hoops and the side walls of the basket.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said form having an end plate for engaging the bottom of the basket, which plate is beveled at its outer edges to engage the sides of the basket and provide means for olinching the ltaples that are driven through ,the bottom oop.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, having means for providing the basket with an intermediate hoop between the top and bot-V tom hoops, said ring gear being disposed between asid intermediate hoop and the top hoop of the basket.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, said rotary means comprising a flat plate carried by a gear, and said means for rotating the ri-n gear comprising pinions engaging the sai gear and the ring gear respectively, and

a shaft connecting the two pinions to rotate 1n unison. A

5. A structure as specified in claim '1, in combination with a knock-out member having its end flush withsaid rotary means for pressing the bottom of the basket.

6. A structure as specified in claim 1, said rotary means comprising `a iiat disk plate adjustably, mounted for adjustment toward and away from the basket bottom, andcushioning means to yieldingly force-the form and basket bottom against said disk plate.

7. A machine for making baskets or rece tacles, comprising elements for forming t e basket or receptacle, a rin gear for engag ing the outer sides of the asket, means for engaging and rotating said ring gear, whereby to rotate the receptacle, a stationary body forming an axial bearing' for the rotation of the receptacle, forming also a housing for the receptacle bottom forming elements and means for performing fastening operations on the receptacle to fasten the materials thereof together while held in shape by said ring gear.

8. A structure as s eciiied in claim 7 the basket being tapered rom top to bottom and said ring gear having its inner periphery beveled to engage the outer sides of the receptacle, and said inner periphery being rovided with means to prevent slippage o `the ring gear on the basket.

9. A structure as specified in claim 7 said means for forming the basket comprising a rotary form movable axially into and out of said ring, and rotatable therewith.

- 10. A structure as specified in claim 7, said basket forming means comprising a mold having its mouth disposed a distance from said ring gear, and the ring gear being thus in position to engage the receptacle a distance from the top or rim thereof.

11. In a machine for making a basket having downwardly tapered sides and a bottom, the combination of non-rotatable tapered molding means, a rotary tapered form for pushin the flat basket web or blank into said tapere molding means, said molding means and form being reciprocable one with referl ence to the other, the molding means and form having means co-operating to press the bottom of the basket and form a circular bottom edge, the bottom pressing means of said molding means being rotatable to rotate the basket, said molding means encircling and enclosing the form and bottom pressing means, during the formation of the basket, a rotary support for said rotatable bottom pressin means, a body having a bearing for sai rotary support and forming with said molding means a housing for said bottom pressing means, the smaller end of said molding means being solidly supported on said body, and means for fastening top and bottom hoops in place on the basket.

12. A structure as specified in claim 11, said bottom pressing means having a gear, incombination with a ring gear havin its periphery formed to engage the Sides o the basket, and means for connectm said gears.

13. A structure as specified 1n claim 11, I

said bottom ressing means com rising a at disk plate, t e form having a ottom plate between which and said disk-plate the bottom of the basket and said bottom edge are formed.

14. A basket-makin machine comprising co-operating elements or bending staves 1n a manner to provide the basket with downwardly tapered side walls and a bottom lying within the length of the basket side wall, with a circular bottom corner edge where the sldes join the bottom, a stationary housing for said stave bending elements, forming a su port for permitting rotation of the bottom orming elements, devices for positioning and stapling an outside hoop on the basket about said circular bottom edge, so that said hoo will form the bottom rim of the basket, an devices for stapling inner and outer hoops o? the basket flush with the upper edge thereo 15. A structure as specified in claim 14, said co-operating elements comprising a rotary basket form for engaging the inside of the basket, and comprising a non-rotatable mold forming part of said housin and disposed in position to receive the said asket form and shape the basket thereon, said mold having rotary means to grip and rotate in unison with the basket and with said basket form.

16. A structure as specified in claim 14, said co-operatin elements com risin a nonrotatable mold ormin part o said o using and to receive the bas et materials, va form for engaging the inside of the basket, cooperating with said mold to shape the basket, and said mold having a rotary member enclosed by said housing and operative vfor engaging and gripping the bottom of the baset, for causing the basket form to rotate with the basket thereon during the stapling of said hoops in place. l

17. Astructure as specified in claim 14, said co-operating elements` comprising a rotary basket form, a non-rotatable mold forming art of said housin and for'receiving the asket form withy t e basket materials thereon, for shaping the basket, said mold having a rotary ring therein for gripping the sides .of the basket, together with means enclosed by said housing and operative for 1otating said ring to cause rotation of the basket form with the basket thereon during the sta lin of said hoops in place.

peclication signed this 19th day of May, y

EDWARD CRAIG. 

